Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Does "Organic" Mean Sustainable? Maybe Not.


Some questions have been pressing me in my time here, especially as the four of us have been working on our first project. Neil asked us a question from which to base a discussion: Is organic farming a sustainable practice in Jamaica? The four of us all have different opinions of the issue, ranging in a spectrum of optimism and pessimism. Some of my colleagues are completely optimistic about organic farming as it plays into sustainability, but on the other hand, I’m stuck. I see multiple sustainability frameworks. I don’t just see the Natural Step framework, with its four principles based under degradation, pollution, extraction, and barriers. I also see another framework, briefly mentioned to me by Dr. Smith (from the University of the West Indies). This framework involves not only the environment, but also personal welfare, economics, and social interactions. 

The Natural Step is useful for evaluating the sustainability of something from a primarily environmental lens. But if we want to analyze a system as it would truly functions, we must consider all aspects of that system: this includes bringing the system  out of its bubble and analyzing market and community interactions. Going organic or going sustainable isn’t easy because it’s complex. That sounds like a simple statement, but I continuously meet people who are championing organic, when in reality, it’s not feasible for the Jamaican market as it works today. The price of organic is too high right now to be economical for the average Jamaican who goes to the store to buy food for his or her family. Organic farming is interesting, because  it takes so much time and so much labor and quite frankly, some assets with which to start, to run such a venture. In the scope of feeding one’s family, growing commercially makes ends meet. To completely put all other needs on hold to be ‘certified’ organic is a toll paid in money (that can be spent on school fees), manual effort (which means a bodily toll), time (that can be spent with loved ones), etc. 

The sacrifices that need to be made by a small Jamaican farmer just may not warrant the benefits of becoming organic certified. If you are fending in the short-term, there isn’t time or resources to plan for the long-term. The costs to personal welfare automatically shut down a branch of the broader sustainability framework. Unless the Jamaican government were to decide to regulate that everyone is to go organic, then I will make the argument that under the current conditions (some of which I talked about, but many of which I left untouched) organic is not a sustainable practice for Jamaica. This of course comes with the understanding that much of what small farmers like Lise and Lisa do are organic and sustainable. Neither farmer has a typical Jamaican background though. These are all things to keep in mind as we move forward in our discussions. 

~ Melissa Peterson

Monday, July 30, 2012

The State of Organic Farming in Jamaica

Ryan Walker wonders about how sustainable organic agriculture is today.

* * *

Organic farming has become a popular industry within the agriculture industry of many countries as a result of a driving push for societies to become more sustainable.  At the surface, the image and science of organic farming is a sustainable practice, but when taken at a broader scale, the claim of sustainability starts to lose its strength.  We have observed organic farming in Jamaica and assessed and investigated its sustainability here. We interviewed several farmers over the past few weeks at different farms where they are pursuing organic certification. They answered questions about farming methods and how “organic” they are.  For many people, organic and sustainable go hand-in-hand.  Ideally, this should be the case, but this is not always true.  This short entry will not define organic farming in Jamaica, but rather, the relationship of organic farming and sustainability in Jamaica.

In an earlier reading in this course, David Orr in his chapter “Two Meanings of Sustainability” from his book Hope is an Imperative: The Essential David Orr, presented two types of sustainability: "sustainable development," the economic and technological solutions to our current problems with humanity and the environment, and "ecological sustainability," an approach focused on the social and natural solutions to the problems created by technology and money. The argument about organic farming and its sustainability falls within the ideas of these two meanings of sustainability.  On one side of the sustainability question, organic farming achieves ecological sustainability better than any other form of farming.  The importance placed on farming without any herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers, farming multiple crops to manage the amount of nutrients being pulled from the soil, and farming in areas that have the least impact on soil degradation and erosion meet most people’s ideas of what sustainable farming should look like. This organic farming also solves the problems of past farming methods that were damaging to the earth and is seen as a better social avenue for farming.

The other side of sustainability looks at the economics and technical solutions of sustainability, and this is an area that organic farming falls short.  Many of the questions that have been asked in Jamaica so far deal with the capacity of organic farming to sustain Jamaicans with all the food that they need.  Some farmers say yes while others are not as optimistic. Despite growing crops in a much more sustainable way, organic farming does not currently serve the majority of Jamaica’s agricultural consumption and many Jamaicans chose against organic products.  Even though people may think that organic is better, they cannot afford foods sold as organic.  The matter of economics is one of the biggest hurdles to organic farming being sustainable.  The current organic agriculture market has created a social barrier to the majority of Jamaicans, pricing them out of the organic choice.  Instead, most Jamaicans will choose imported food that is cheaper.  Another great barrier to organic being sustainable in my eyes is the economic burden that the farmers themselves are placed in.  For a farmer to become a certified organic producer, they must meet a list of principles set forward to ensure the quality of organic foods.  This process is not only very expensive, but can take a minimum of three to five years. [You can read the standards for the Jamaican Organic Agriculture Movement here.]

In the current agricultural industry in Jamaica, organic farming is not sustainable.  The majority of organic farmers are not producing a sustainable economic yield while the foods they put to market are out the reach of the Jamaican population.  In order to become sustainable, organic farming would have to become the only method of agriculture in Jamaica to ensure that prices are lowered for the Jamaican public.  Organic farming would also have to become much more regulated in order to ensure that the market does not become flooded with one specific crop.  By regulating organic farming, the government could ensure that competition does not commercialize the organic industry recreating the current issues within Jamaica.

* * *

A lot of people who write on energy demand (sometimes calling it "need") talk about natural gas as the bridge fuel between oil and coal to renewable sources. Do you think we need to bridge between chemically-intensive agriculture and fully organic agriculture? What pitfalls and opportunities do you see?

Sunday, July 29, 2012

First-year Students & the Balance Between Environmental Management and Poverty

Gabrielle and Melissa muse on first-year students joining them in Jamaica.

* * *

The 14 incoming freshmen have arrived in Jamaica. Neil, Ryan B, Ryan W, Melissa and I arrived at the airport in Montego Bay to pick them up last Saturday at around 10 am. Because of delayed flights and such we waited there untill around 7pm when their flight finally arrived. The next day we all came together for a brief lecture/ discussion led by Neil. We went over three articles, one by Peter Singer, the other by Bjorn Lomberg, and the third by Gerard Lameiro. The articles tackled the question, “Does helping the environment hurt the poor?” However, each approached the question in a different way, and the third article recognizes this. Lameiro talked about how each sustainability leader  is working towards the same goal but is doing so in a manner which tended to work against, instead of with, each other. It is interesting to see how the barrier to collaboration happens within the sustainability movement like it does in other movements.

Joined by the new students, we traveled to Zionites Farm (read a trip adviser review here), another FAO demonstration site. This was by far one of my favorite farms I have visited so far, and I believe the freshmen enjoyed it as well. I loved seeing smiles on their faces and watching their eyes light up as they not only learned a little about this organic farm but tasted, smelled and saw the Jamaica’s biodiversity. This farm is owned and operated by Lisa and Chris Benz. I had met Lisa previously, when she joined us on our adventure to Portland. This was my first time meeting her husband though. He had a great spirit that made the visit fun, exciting and educational.

Tuesday we all took a trip back up to Durga’s Den for the day. I was excited for the new students to see the place where I had spent most of my time in Jamaica thus far and where I had subsequently become so comfortable. We were joined by four panelists, one of whom was Lisa Benz. These Panelists discussed various aspects of the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM), such as which organizations are working on this movement like the IICA, and the basics of food security in Jamaica. We all actively engaged in the Q & A following and I feel as if the freshmen learned a lot from the day. 

~ Gabrielle Reese

* * *


LEAP has arrived and has thus far exceeded my expectations. I was honestly a bit worried about how everything was going to turn out with the merging of the groups, but I’ve talked to most of the freshmen now, and I think they’re great. They are young and open and full of questions and I’m so excited to get to see them take in this experience. It’s strange at the same time though. I feel like it was two weeks ago that I was starting my freshman year when in reality it was two years ago and I’m in a completely different position now. I’m in a position where I’m expected to lead small groups of younger students (both with the freshmen and at Durga’s with the campers), and soon I’ll be mentoring another group of freshmen back in PA for TOTEMS (Total Orientation to Earth and Mineral Sciences). I find it hard to believe that I’ve made a transition from clueless undergrad to informed leader-in-training. I feel a bit wide-eyed right now that I’m at a point where people trust me to talk about my discipline. I would really like to do some training in discussion facilitation, I think that would be helpful for my growth as a mentor.

Today was very good in terms of discussion. Neil facilitated our first discussion as a whole group (after we managed to fit 21 bodies into one hotel room) and we went through two articles by Peter Singer and Bjorn Lomborg titled “Does Helping the Environment Hurt the Poor?” We briefly delved into the arguments for both sides, before touching on a third piece by Glen Low which talked about the similarities between the two sides. It made it apparent that through all of the topics that can be argued which stem from “sustainability” there is a common ground that we need to recognize. Realizing that common ground is going to be a major step in cooperation for how we, as a global citizenry, move forward. Someone brought up the point that balance is a key operative if we do want to move towards alleviating poverty and helping the planet. The third article pointed out that the two issues are inextricably linked. So what steps do we take from here? What lessons can these Nittany Lions take from Jamaica this week to work on these pressing issues? I am sure we have an interesting week lying ahead of us.

Tomorrow we will (hopefully) be venturing to two organic farms in the area. Today we worked on investigative questions based on the four sustainability principles in the Natural Step framework to ask the farmers tomorrow. The LEAPers are definitely eager to learn and my group came up with some good questions. I’m looking forward to the big discussions tomorrow and to see their observation skills at work. I think I can learn a lot from these students. I am also looking forward to making my own comparison between these farms and the farms we saw in the Blue Mountains. I’ll be looking out for permaculture design principles, sustainability principles, and the regulations for organic farming.

~Melissa Peterson

* *  *

You can read the articles Gabrielle and Melissa are referring to:
Peter Singer's "Does Helping the Planet Hurt the Poor?"
Bjorn Lomborg's "Escaping Poverty is Good for the Environment"
Glen Low, "A False Dillemma: Clean Up the Environment or Reduce Poverty"

"It all boils down to what you are comfortable with."


This entry is the final reflection on life at Durga's Den from Melissa Peterson.

* * *

As I’m certain many of the others will address, life at Durga’s Den is not the same as life in the states. As a matter of fact, life at Durga’s Den isn’t like life in the city of Ocho Rios which lies at the foot of the mountain. There are some things I relish about this place. I love the view from my cottage. The vista of the city below is breathtaking at all hours of the day. I enjoy watching types of clouds I’ve never even seen before pass overhead on a journey to the other side of the island. Storms that deliver rain and lightning, I watch from the top of the hill, too high up to be affected. The biota that thrives here is lush and green even though we haven’t see more than a few drops of rain up here on the mountain. The young campers and the staff have become our friends. The stars shine like millions of pin pricks in a black velvet sky. The open air construction allows a breeze to penetrate every building. There’s nothing like an outdoor shower overlooking a valley.

Granted, there are also things I don’t like. I don’t like using a well-used composting toilet. I don’t like some of the smells that come with using manure for just about everything. I don’t like losing electricity at 9 pm every night because the solar battery keeps running out. I don’t like the aggressive dogs that nip at my ankles unless I baby talk them. I don’t like ants finding every bit of food. I’m not a fan of being up by 5:40 AM to get to yoga by 6. I’m not a fan of the showers being all the way across the compound from my cottage.

A greywater system at Durga's Den.
Picture by Gabrielle Reese.
Through all of this though, one sees the dual aspects. I love the open-air gazebo: it’s probably my favorite building on site. I love the breeze cooling it off all throughout the day. On the other hand, flies know where to find food, and you’ll find yourself being dive-bombed by five at once. On another note, I love our quaint cottage. At the same time, it’s hard to move around the small space and I find myself more comfortable on the outer decks.

It all boils down to what you’re comfortable with. I’ve been in plenty of situations where I’ve been uncomfortable with the a) type of toilet b) quantity of insects c) the shower situation d) the lack of light after a certain time. [See greywater system pictured at right.] I find myself able to adapt now though. Where in other situations, I feel this relief entering a comfort-zone space again, this experience is holding me in the growth zone even after leaving. My brain is constantly processing the differences between Durga’s Den and my hotel room, Durga’s Den and my house, Durga’s Den and my dorm.

I’m starting to see where I waste energy after 9:00 PM. I’m starting to see that I don’t need hot showers. I’m starting to see that I don’t need an inefficient big house or an inefficient old dorm. Where can I make changes to existing structures in my life? Where can I make changes to myself? These are all going to be prominent questions in my mind the next few days as I process the living phase. 

* * *

Where can you and I change? What can we be comfortable with?

Disruptions and Detours

If you've followed our short foray you've noticed that we've been MIA for about a week. Our crew encountered some hard knocks. Both Ryans got very ill with one of them having to be taken to a hospital. Talk about an immersive experience. We'll be up and running again in no time, including updates on some pretty incredible experiences, thoughts on sustainability, and pictures from Jamaica's famous Cockpit Country.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Yoga...A Journey


At Durga’s Den, the bell at the Gazebo rings at 5:45 AM every morning. The tenants of the cabins stir and groan and pull themselves out of bed. The cabin at the top of the hill overlooks the city of Ocho Rios. The buildings below look like match boxes when they are not shrouded by fog. One tenant of this cabin looks at her clock every morning, wondering how she is still managing to lumber out of bed and down to the Stone House every day by 6:00. She pulls on her workout shorts and stumbles down the hill, gingerly stepping the path which is littered with loose stones. She trudges up the steps to the stone house, a two story building whose walls are a light stone, grouted together with cement. The mats are laid out on the mahogany colored wood floors. She goes to her mat and waits silently for the rest of the tenants to sleepily arrive and navigate to their respective mats.

Meditation: Two mats to my left a thirteen year old boy is fidgeting. Behind me, someone is scratching mosquito bites. I struggle to keep my eyes closed and block out the everything that is not the heart shakra. Focus on the shakra. A rooster croaks out his  “cockle doodle doooo” but it comes out sounding more like “rauuuckk raauuck raauck raaaaoooooo”! The dogs start yapping outside the building, barking back to dogs down the hill. Focus, focus, focus.

Every meditation is a struggle to ‘center’ my thoughts and clear my mind, and I seriously don’t even know what that means. My brain is always thinking, and turning that off just doesn’t make sense to me. I am finding that this type of meditation doesn’t work so well for me. I’ve meditated in other ways in the past, and I think I’m better off sticking to those.

Yoga: Sun salutations. Rise up, stretch to the sky, bend at the waist, right knee back, push hips down and head up, left foot back into plank, knees to the floor, chest to the floor, rise up in cobra, curl your toes and push you behind to the sky, right foot forward between your hands, left foot forward between your hands, fold up, inhale, exhale, repeat on left side.

Doing this entire process over and over again wears on my patience. I find myself bored, even if I am getting better at the actual movements and poses. Find the patience to carry on.

I feel myself getting stronger in my core, I can hold myself up in ways I couldn’t ten days ago. I am more flexible. My body feels good. Is this something to continue even though I dislike actually doing it?

Relaxation: I love relaxation on my mat. My body melts into the ground, my mind clears...maybe meditation works better for me laying down? Breathe in, breathe out. Relax my toes, ankles, knees, etc. all the way up to my face. I feel at peace.

Yoga every morning has been a journey for me. Some days it’s difficult to find the strength and the motivation to do just one more pose. Sometimes on those same days though, I leave the stone house standing high and feeling open to the world. Every day I find a new strength and feel like I’m making progress. Is this something I may want to continue at home? Perhaps. I still can’t be tempted into headstands, but I’m open to the benefits of yoga now.

~Melissa Peterson


Saturday, July 21, 2012

Biodynamics, Biodiversity, Holism, and Patterns


Gabrielle Reese is excited about Biodynamic agriculture.

***

Today we learned about Biodynamics, a farming practice pioneered by Rudolph Steiner. I am excited to learn more about this brilliant aspect of sustainability. I hope to incorporate it into my own gardening practices.

In a nutshell, this is the integration of the farm within a holistic system. The farm is a living organism. One way to practice Biodynamics involves planting according to lunar cycles. Just as the moon regulates the tide, with fuller moons creating high tide and less full moons creating low tide, it also regulates water in living systems. For plants such as fruit trees, you are to plant on fuller moons, as the water and therefore energy of the plant is concentrated in the upper part of the plant. This is beneficial to fruit trees as the fruit is the part of the plant that you reap and is that which requires the most energy. Plants such as carrots and potatoes from which we yield the roots of the plants are to be planted on less full moons, when the energy is concentrated at the bottom of the plant. There are ways to recognize and study the natural processes of life, and mimic these processes. Doing this is beneficial to not only your yields but the also overall long-term health of your farm and the biodiversity of the surroundings, therefore sustaining these elements.
Penn State students (clockwise from top
to bottom) Ryan Walker, Ryan Brown, and
Gabrielle Reese prepare a Biodynamic
nest. Picture by Melissa Peterson.

Another aspect of Biodynamics is agroforestry. This is a way to introduce agriculture into a forest system. A nest is created, with a plant in the center that serves various purposes. From there, sticks and branches are laid out in a circular fashion from the center out, with the largest branches at the outermost radius. This serves to add to microorganism diversity of the soil as well as helping to retain soil. Compost or manure is added, and various seeds are dispersed all over the nest. Brush and leaves are piled on top and the nest is then watered. Your nest then grows into a rich biodiverse space allowing you to farm without harming to the forest. 

***

At every step life in Jamaica challenges our students. As you can see, they aren't just lolly-gagging in a beautiful place. Every day they work. For over a week, they have been visiting and working with and for Jamaican farmers and learning many things including. "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Farming means working. Labor. Sustainable agriculture means focus and intention and taking a long view of the farm as an integrated system or organism in the larger patterns of nature. Wendell Berry calls this kind of agricultural thinking "solving for pattern."

Gabrielle, then, as part of the farm for a while is part of the organism. Hopefully, she is a healthy part and one that promotes the health of the larger organism.

Life at Durga's Den

Gabrielle Reese seems to be really embracing a new life and way of being that is "sustainable."

***


This is day 8 in Jamaica. We arrived at Durga’s Den, a sustainable living community in Ocho Rios, the morning of our second day. I was so excited to be immersed in this community, to experience even for a short while the type of lifestyle that I want so desperately to live. At Durga’s Den they are completely off the grid. Their electricity is supplied through solar panels that are placed on the roof of our main meeting spot- the stone house. In order to conserve water, especially during the current dry spell, they have installed composting toilets*, use 3 gallon buckets in the shower, the “pi-pi” room is flush free, and buckets are used in the kitchen dish washing sinks.

For those of you unfamiliar with composting toilets, they basically collect the human waste instead of flushing it down using many gallons of water to be treated by a water treatment facility. Here at Durga’s Den, you are to cover your waste with sawdust in order to mask the smell. The waste is then used as compost in the forest and for some fruit trees. Although to some this might seem unpleasant and strange, I have embraced these toilets as they are a necessary step in sustainable living.

The two owners of the compound are Lyse and Michael Charron. Along with these two there are a handful of workers who help out daily in the various aspects of development- from grey water systems and compost to building construction and cooking. All but two are Jamaicans; those two are from Mexico. We have been waking up every morning at 5:45 am to start meditation and yoga at 6:00. Lyse is our instructor. This has been a wonderful experience for me as I actively practice yoga, and have been yearning to begin meditating. Starting my day early is also nice. I believe yoga and meditation fit nicely into sustainability, as one must be able to sustain themselves- especially their mind- in order to sustain the world around them.

Making seed balls. Picture by Melissa Peterson.
We are joined by four other students here at Durga’s Den. Laura and Mark are from Canada and are Lyse’s grand niece and nephew. Javon and Shinque are from Jamaica. We are all working through Lyse’s sustainability workshop. So far in this workshop we have begun studying permaculture, we were introduced to the permaculture principles, and identified which principles applied to which of the various projects around the compound. We have also begun discussing the major environmental issues that plague the world community today, such as fertile soil erosion and water scarcity. We have begun understanding sustainability by working hands on, on various projects such as a grey water system (to filter water) and a compost pile.

This past weekend we traveled to Portland to see other farms. Mr. Donaldson’s farm is one of the other handful of demonstration sites in collaboration with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). These sites are not all technically certified organic, however all and practicing some form of organic or sustainable farming. We visited two other farms, which were local community farms, as well in the area. We will be traveling to visit other farms in the coming weeks. We are to observe the various practices of these various farms and challenge ourselves to identify which farms are actually sustainable. It is not always easy to identify who or what is sustainable. However, I am hoping that through these experiences I will be able to better identify this. 

***

We've had a few entries now involving the composting toilet. Some of you might thing, "A what?" You get the toilet. Maybe you know what composting is. But a toilet that composts? Basically, it's a toilet people use to create fertile soil. In a permacultural or Biodynamic farming system (see Gabrielle's next entry for a small preview of Biodynamic farming). To get a basic idea, though, on a composting toilet, watch this video of Penn State professor Madhu Suri Prakash and George Ann Clark talking about composting toilets, soil care, postmodern peasantry, and sustainable communities in Mexico.




In some circles, people refer to composting toilets as "appropriate technology." What is appropriate about it? How does it conflict with your ideas of civilization? How does it resonate with you?

Friday, July 20, 2012

Becoming a mosquito...a good one.


From Ryan Brown:

If a year ago someone would have told me that I would be living off the grid, I would have laughed and told them to stop lying. Well here we are today and I am living at Durga’s Den, a five-acre plot of land in Jamaica completely off the grid (see their Sustainability Workshops here). By off the grid I do not mean, no cell reception and in the middle of nowhere. I mean no water bill for running water. no electric bills. the site sustains itself. Solar panels provide all the electricity the facilities need. There is a rainwater catching system that supplies all the water onsite. It is like something out of a movie. All the food we have eaten (mostly vegetarian) has been grown on the farm. All in all while staying at Durga’s Den I have learned so much.

Confucius said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” For many years I have heard about living sustainably but I forgot all about it once I was removed from the conversation. Now that I am hear and I see what living sustainably and organically is, I am in a position to always remember what I been presented with. Moving forward with the idea we are living sustainably at the moment and that helps all of us understand and be able to apply it to our lives.

Durga’s Den’s owners, Lyse and her husband Michael, have made such a large impact by one small action. They have stuck a very powerful cord in their small community on the outskirts of Ocho Rios. The widespread influence they have had is astonishing. We have witnessed a few people come to Durga’s Den and stay the night just to get the experience; couples and families come as a vacation and to embrace the fully immersive nature of the site. Homegrown animals, compost, and food…Durga’s Den has it all in such a small package. The lessons I have learned thus far, the experience that I have had, is truly something that is not and will not be easily forgotten.

“If you think you are too small to make an effective (difference), you have never been in the dark with a mosquito, said Betty Reese. Believe me, we have enough mosquito bites to understand how much of a difference or how effective one small person or action can make.

Right now, I strongly encourage people to get up and start making a difference in this world. Each citizen should begin to think globally about the impact of their actions and start to take small actions count for the positive. Mother Nature is screaming out for help.

It is our turn to provide relief for her as she has protected us for millions of years.

***

I am reminded of a recent blog post by Andrew Revkin at the New York Times blog, DotEarth titled, "Can Engaged Global Citizens Foster Earth-Friendly Diplomacy?" Given school's role in fostering citizenship in general, perhaps it's time we rethought what good citizenship in such an obviously interconnected world. As David Orr argues, the new benchmark for education should be "ecologically literacy." An ecologically literate person would be a lower-negative impact citizen who might, as Ryan notes, "begin to think globally about the impact of their actions and start to take small actions to count for the positive." But I guess this begs the question, "What is positive?"

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sustaining family. Composting toilets.


This reflection comes from Ryan Walker.

***

It has been about 6 days now since we have arrived in Jamaica. This has truly been an immersive experience. I have seen more “organic farming” in these past five to six days than I have seen my entire life.  My understanding of sustainable living and sustainable practices has been questioned and reframed and questioned and reframed again and again. Every time I encounter someone else my perspective on the subject is changed and broadened. What resonates most about these past few days is the realization of how sustainability is not just something academics speak about behind closed doors but that people of all ages putting these principles into practices every day including living habits and organic farming.

Composting toilet outhouse.
I have been challenged to adapt to a lifestyle well beyond my comfort zone. Living in an area with compostable toilets is not really my thing (pictured at left). Yes, it saves water but this is something I really would like to go without. While I find it hard every day to continue on my own way, seeing these farmers making a living off these crops, pushing themselves to make ends meet, and pushing their children to become better than them is something remarkable; seeing fathers and mothers create a way out for their children is truly remarkable, the strength and courage they have is unbelievable.

The people I have met so far are some of the most hardworking and selfless individuals I have ever met. Many of their lives are centered around communal bonds and community service and that is one thing I admire most about them. They all have this yearning to selflessly serve and provide for their community, whether it is providing jobs or just keeping the young involved in something constructive, these people are paving the way.

If only this sort of support was mimicked in the States, so many more people would be in a better place emotionally.

One thing I struggle to understand has been the necessity to farm on a hillside. I understand now that you have to make due with what have but it is hard for me to quantify the need to put my life at risk on a mountainside. My family and I would really need to look elsewhere for a livelihood.

A few burning questions have been burning for the last few days:

  • Would you be able to put aside all of yourself in order to provide for your family at all cost?
  • I’ve known Americans who cast harsh judgments on Jamaicans. How can they pass such harsh judgments on people and a history they have never met nor understood? How can you condemn someone and their country for having the same flaws as you do?
***

So how about that second-to-last question? Do you think you would be able to live and work on a hillside in the tropics? Could you be sustained doing that?

New landscapes, old wisdom, and annoying roosters


Most of the upcoming posts are reflections written by Ryan, Ryan, Gabrielle, and Melissa. Already, life is pretty interesting. Over the coming 24 hours, I'll be posting several of their reflections.

The first is from Ryan Walker. Without further ado...

July 10:
The flight from Philadelphia down along the Eastern Seaboard to Miami serves as an interesting precursor to the things that we will be discussing and observing in Jamaica.  Even from 30,000 feet, one sees the impacts that we have had on the environment.  It is most troublesome to see these impacts brought right up against the shoreline.  Most notable from the air are three human influences: massive suburban developments, large plots of land devoted to circle irrigation, and countless golf courses intermixed between houses and the shore.  Without getting to Jamaica yet, I know that at least two of these items, suburban developments and golf courses have already been carved into Jamaica’s landscape, the golf courses specifically designed to cater to “American” needs. 

The massive all-inclusive beach resorts with their decorated retaining walls and their unseen golf courses serve as an immediate indicator that we are in an artificial Jamaica.  This creation calls back to Illich’s harsh comments about the American volunteer and the American system being brought to developed countries that may not truly want it.  In the dead of night, one cannot begin to understand the landscape in which he has found himself, but the observations along the way will prove useful in understanding sustainability in a poorer country.

July 11:
The Jamaican landscape does not disappoint.  The common notion of a tropical paradise is indeed an apt description of the place we have woken up to.  It is nice to not be in one of the megaresorts but there is still a sense that I am here and seen as a wealthy visitor.  However, I had a conversation with a Jamaican man on the beach this morning and somehow we started talking about resorts and such.  It was interesting because he said to me, “Mon, in Jamaica, we have little things, so what we do is we boast.  One man have fancy car, he boast, you come here to fancy hotel and id make you think you better than me,” he said with a smile.  “De only thing that is for certain is you live one day, the next you die.  You may have the fancy hotel, but I have the beach because it is Jamaica.  We same flesh, same blood, and what happen to the man who have a million bucks who die? He gone, but I still here.  Same flesh, same blood, no different between you and me.”  His comments are very true because we are mortal and the things of ours on this earth we cannot take with us when we go. 

So, that asks the question, do the Jamaican people need the economy, the pleasures, or the life that Americans have?  If you ask many of them they would probably would say, “Yes.”  And it’s true, Americans are blessed beyond belief, but can we achieve a better life with less? That is at the core of sustainability.  Remember the Jamaican man’s words, “you live one day, you die the next…same flesh, same blood, no different between you and me.”

July 12:
Today was the first full day at Durga’s Den.  One of the most challenging things from last night was the heat, the dogs and the roosters in the morning.  It wasn’t the fact that I was not able to fall asleep, when your body is tired enough it can fall asleep in any condition, but it was the constant waking up because of those things.  The most surprising thing was the amount of dogs that were out barking late into the night.  Back home, if somebody’s dog was barking they would have had very upset neighbors that would have insisted that the dog be quieted, here not so much.  My experience as a summer camp counselor for three summers has  made the transition to living at Dutrga’s Den much more smooth, although I know there will be some things that I will have to get myself accustomed to.  

Monday, July 16, 2012

The Faces of New Friends




Two Faces of Sustainability

As we noted here before, “sustainability” is one of those concepts that’s easy to abuse. I often wonder how the term can mean much of anything at all if a small-scale organic agriculture movement like Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and mega-corporations like Monsanto or Alcoa can also use it. Richard Heinberg notes in his book Peak Everything that some environmentalists are just abandoning using the term “sustainability” for that very reason. But we have some trust that it means something.


So we’ve taken a little time looking at a couple of major writings in the history of sustainability and tried to understand the tension in the word. They are the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (WCED) Our Common Future and the Earth Charter and then David Orr’s examination of “technological sustainability” and "ecological sustainability." 

Before we go on, we should note that most everyone involved with sustainability hold a few things in common. First, they recognize that a growing population using more materials will escalate human-caused environmental problems. Ehrlich and Holdren's I=P*A*T is essentially true (if inexact). Second, there are many human-caused social problems like disease and poverty that are often interlinked. Third, there are also many human-caused environmental problems like climate change, ocean acidification, toxification of air, land, and water, deforestation, mass extinction, and soil erosion. Fourth, social and environmental problems can, do, and will compound one another. Fifth, and finally, humans are intelligent moral creatures who can solve or ameliorate these problems. The difference is in how. So it's no wonder that we end up with different versions of sustainability. What should we sustain after all?

"Technological sustainability" is more or less synonymous with "sustainable development" as defined in Our Common Future. That document states:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
  • the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
  • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.
The WCED clarifies its meaning for development, "Development involves a progressive transformation of economy and society." Most corporate and governmental approaches to sustainability take this tack. As our Melissa Patterson says, "Sustainable development is intended to appeal to both environmentalists and economists. It is supposed to be a cross between furthering ourselves in economic growth while moving towards sustainable living. This approach involves a top-down approach that is very policy-oriented." Ryan Walker notes "[sustainable development] provides options that want to bring developing countries up to the level of developed countries so that the global economy remains strong." It is a technocratic and technological approach built on the assumption that technological progress is real progress.

“Ecological sustainability" has more in common with The Earth Charter and certainly with the local grassroots initiatives like Slow Food, the Transition Towns, and the work of places like the Post Carbon Institute (where David Orr and Richard Heinberg are fellows). As such, Orr emphasizes different relationships with technology, new forms of technology that require less elaborate maintenance, and lower material input. These might be tools and technologies Ivan Illich would call tools for conviviality. Gabrielle noted that in contrast to technological sustainability, the Earth Charter and ecological sustainability value indigenous peoples because their generations of wisdom and spiritual knowledge of how to live sustainably and provide for well-being. "Their lifestyles are something to be admired as well as mimicked during this struggle for a new sustainable world," she said.


One author we read, former New York Times science writer and DotEarth blogger Andrew Revkin, wrote, "Sustain what?" In an interview, he said the following:
That is always the question. Sustainability as a word is utterly vague until you apply it to a specific issue–sustainable ecosystem, sustainable energy system, sustainable transportation system, sustainable lifestyle. Then you can kind of get an answer. So sustainability is a trait, and not a fact, and yes, that is really what it is all about.
So our question is "Can we sustain the developed status quo, indigenous people, and the environment?" 

Sunday, July 15, 2012

From the plane to Durga's Den

It is almost the conclusion of my second day at Durga’s Den. It feels like a long time since I’ve been home already. The plane ride went relatively smoothly. We spent the first day primarily waiting at the airport, but between Gabrielle’s and Ryan W.’s flights coming in, the four of us who had already arrived experienced Jamaican fast food, a beach, and a tourist restaurant. It was an interesting first taste of the country. Of course we then had a long ride back to the Crystal Ripple Beach Hotel. In the morning after breakfast we had some time to relax and get acquainted with our surroundings. 

View of the beach at the Crystal Ripple.
Pic by Melissa Peterson
I went out to take pictures and ended up meeting a lot of Jamaicans! That was exciting and unexpected. I was floored by the genuine friendly reception I got when I said my normal, “Hi! How are you today?” I actually had two kind men sit down with me and give me a lesson in Patois! That was exciting. I met a man by the name of Scooby and he insisted I go for a swim. The water was amazing and in the process, I made lots of friends. I didn’t feel treated like a tourist, I felt like everyone I met was genuinely concerned that I get a good impression of his country (I met all men). Scooby showed me the river mouth and while we were down there, a Sandals tour boat pulled right up to the river mouth with some very uncomfortable-looking tourists on board. I couldn’t help but wonder how different their experiences will be from mine. I don’t know why seeing people on their own beaches causes discomfort to some tourists, but I assume it is because they were viewing from a boat like the walls of the fancy, covered boat are like glass in an aquarium through which to view a foreign environment.

During breakfast I took note of fishing with nets. The nets were lain by boat in a circle. I wonder what the fishing restrictions are along the various coasts of Jamaica in comparison to what I saw in South Africa last semester. I’m sure there are pressures on the marine ecosystem because of the coastal populations and tourism on the island.

We then drove through town for some last minute supplies and for jerk lunch. I had jerk pork and sweet potato fries: heavenly! Neil made a point that the restaurant we ate at was intended for tourism, and while we did see a lot of tourists, we also saw a good amount of locals. He pointed out that businesses intended with tourists in mind still serve a purpose for Jamaicans. Everyone loves good food and a fun atmosphere! That makes total sense. I guess I don’t want to go to tourist places in my hometown, but the places that are really good, I still go to. This is just a Jamaican parallel.

This is the composting toilet
structure at Durga's Den.
After a drive through Ocho Rios, we drove up the mountain to Durga’s Den. We have been here for a little over a day now, and it is definitely a different environment than I’ve ever been acquainted to. I will expand more later. 

~ Melissa Peterson

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

What are we thinking about? Happiness. Education. Sustainability. Progress. An awful lot.


Ryan, Ryan, Gabrielle, Melissa, and Neil – our lions – are now in Jamaica. We’ll be updating regularly now with as much about them as we can. But before we get rolling, we want to share some of the sustainability materials that we’ve been looking at.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence from Britain. Over those 50 years, it has undergone incredible development pressures, some positive, some not, and many controversial in the nation itself. We hope to understand some of the dilemmas island nation face in the light of sustainability. So we will be exploring Jamaica’s culture, agriculture, biodiversity, and much more over the coming weeks. But in order to create a frame, we have explored islands and sustainability in several ways.

We can’t hope to share all of it with you, but here are a few things we’ve done so far and how we are approaching them. Here’s a quick rundown in no particular order of importance.

What is happiness? What does sustainability mean to us? What is the purpose of our education? We have explored these three questions (and invite you to do the same) to get at our assumptions and beliefs. Most of us agree that connection to other people, our health, and the opportunity to take meaningful action make us happy. Sustainability, like justice or freedom, is a big concept whose definition can be elusive. One of our members Ryan Walker, though, compared it to stewardship, implying a kind of responsibility to use and care for ourselves and the rest of the planet. But we know this is a rabbit hole that we will tumble down for weeks to come. And our education is the vehicle to achieve our place in society, primarily our professional aspirations. However, our own Gabrielle Reese wrote that education is also a way to learn about ourselves.

Could education be a way to better citizenship for us the globe? Should the purpose of education be to create a more sustainable culture? Or could we incorporate that purpose into education more fully?

One of the authors we have spent some time with is David Orr (picture at left). In his seminal book, Ecological Literacy (1992), he argues education needs to be transformed to help foment an ecologically literate citizenry. That is, people need to become critically aware of the consequences of how we (mostly the developed the people of the world) have lived and continue to live today. It should follow that an educated person become skilled in living well in their places to create a healthy economy and happy society in harmony with nature. To understand the many challenges before us in this class, then, we have examined different views of important concepts behind sustainability and ecological literacy by asking questions about some of our cherished concepts.

Are the sustainability crises Jamaica faces today in agriculture for example, the consequence of unfettered economic growth? Are we humans just restless creatures whose essential nature drives us to toward unsustainability? One of our members wondered with some equanimity whether humans are “parasites?” It’s not uncommon to wonder these kinds of things. If we are, what does that mean for us?

What would progress be? Like sustainability, it’s an amorphous term whose definition seems to slip around the corner when you think you’ve found it. So to get at it, we read pieces by three very different authors on progress. Bjorn Lomborg, something of a cornucopian, thinks technological progress, though responsible for many of the environmental woes we face, is “the only game in town.” Vandana Shiva, urges us to rethink progress as technological progress precisely because of its role in the ecological and cultural crises before us like climate change. She argues that we need to bring human labor freed from industrial machinery back into the economy so that people have meaningful work. It’s as if people have become tools for the tools they made, slaves to machines instead of the other way around. Finally, Derrick Jensen says that we are “high on progress,” and like addicts, have indeed become slaves to an economy and civilization that might need to collapse in order for the rest of the biosphere to thrive. Progress is an Orwellian term to Jensen. Up is down and down is up. Progress is regress.

So what other ideas or questions do we start to ask? Can we develop better technologies with a different definition of progress guiding us? How can a system like Natural Step help shape our problem solving toward a more sustainable world? What should we value in our “one world”? Can we ethically “manage” or “operate” planet earth? What is the right thing to do in a warming world? How should we do it? What skills do we need? Does humanity, or some part of it, need to undergo a spiritual awakening to realize a sustainable civilization or civilizations? So many questions.

And even if we answer these questions, could we become people armed with good intentions unwittingly sending many of us to proverbial hell? Ivan Illich certainly thought so. It can all be rather disorienting.

Island nations face stresses different from continental nations. Their resources are fewer, their boundaries tighter, and their cultural and biological diversity special and unique. To get a handle on how sustainability and sustainable development are playing out on island nations, we read the United Nations report Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (linked here). Development has brought urbanization, natural resource exploitation, changing demographics, and new energy demands all of which create sustainability issues. Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, ocean acidification, and rising sea levels – all the result of the global economy if you follow David Orr and Vandana Shiva – confront islands in their own ways. We will see how some of these play out in Jamaica and how people are dealing with them.

So in the weeks to come we will be mulling over these and many other things. We hope you continue to check back in, get to know each of us better, and share in the excitement.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Who are we?

Next week, five of the six of us will be embarking on our journey to Jamaica where we will be living as well as we can with Jamaicans to learn sustainability on an island. It is an exciting time.

Who are we?

Ryan Walker is a fourth year student of landscape architecture at Penn State University.  There, he has worked on designs spanning community layout and design, watershed analysis, the design of a greenway, and courtyard and park designs in the university design studios.  While studying landscape architecture, he has received a scholarship award for his studies and an award for the Excellence in the Study of Landscape Architecture given to the top students of each class every year by the Department of Landscape architecture.  He is also pursuing a minor in geography at Penn State to supplement his degree in landscape architecture.  
Along with his work in the landscape architecture studios, Ryan Walker is a student ally of New Leaf Initiative, a non-profit company focused on the application of sustainable practices spread across multiple disciplines.  Here, he has worked on a green wall project for the town of State College, PA as well as researching and developing solutions for a potential project in Haiti that looked at helping the country manage the changes it faced after the earthquake struck the country.   Ryan has applied his study of landscape architecture in the professional setting at a residential landscape architecture company and a design firm that works on the environmental restoration of floodplains, streams, and waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
* * *
Gabrielle Reese is from Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, a suburb just outside of Scranton. She is going to be a second year Energy Engineering student at Penn State University Park. In addition, she recently enrolled in one of Penn State's new Sustainability Leadership minor. That is how came across the Jamaica Sustainability study abroad Program.

Outside of school, she actively practices yoga and loves to spend her time outdoors. An environmentalist from the start, Gabrielle's focus has been on environmental and community based issues. Her first initiative was working with an environmental group in her high school. She then began volunteering almost full-time with the Sierra Student Coalition, a completely youth-run environmental organization. This included both working on committees within the organization, as well as planning and executing an eight day long camp with a cohesive team of trainers. Since attending Penn State, she has joined Eco-Action, the oldest environmental-political based action group on campus. She also was an Eco Rep, a group of freshmen students working to promote sustainability within the freshmen dorms. Beginning to learn about sustainability from a university perspective has given her the opportunity to begin studying sustainability concepts in a systematic and concrete way. Her goal is to focus on sustainability at a local level, working to strengthen communities. She believes that localization in all aspects and a strong community are essential to create a sustainable world. To contact Gabrielle send her an email at ger5048@psu.edu

* * *

Ryan Brown is a senior at The Pennsylvania State University, majoring in Integrative Arts w/ a focus in Architecture and Sustainable Design. He is the current President of the Penn State Student Black Caucus (Facebook page here) and a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., along with many other campus affiliations.
Throughout his time at the university, Ryan has received a multitude of University honors for his service to the community and aiding students in fighting against social and civil injustices. He has recently received an inaugural Way Paver’s Award, the Medgar Evers Social Activism Award, and a variety of Community Service Awards. He is tearing down barrier after barrier each and everyday as he is a First generation college student and is doing as his award has stated, paving the way, for all those that will soon follow.
Ryan believes that all of the awards and recognition that he has received has aided him in  reaching his goals and aligning him with the proper path in which is feels he is destined to take. Having learned many lessons through his activities, Ryan is strongly encouraging his peers to be responsible GLOBAL citizens and aid in protecting the earth no matter where we are located.
Ryan is seeking to further his education in sustainable design and sustainability as a whole. Through the program he seeks to gain further knowledge on the topic of sustainability and the ways in which he can aid in protecting the environment. With the many lessons learned from this summer aboard and aid his friends and family in protecting the globe.
* * * 
Melissa Peterson is a rising junior at the Pennsylvania State University. An
alumna of the Semester at Sea program and the Cape Town Parks and People study abroad, she enjoys traveling. Melissa is an aspiring geographer majoring in
Physical/Environmental Science and Geographic Information Systems. From EMS Student Council and EMS THON to the geography and geoscience clubs, she is an active member of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Her other academic interests include climatology, African studies, and sustainability.

When Melissa is not participating in school-related functions or working, she enjoys reading classic novels and going on adventures. She likes to work with her hands on various creative projects such as drawing, painting, sculpting, and bead working. She has an interest in fashion, which particularly manifests in her love of shoes. She will always make time for a Phillies game or a Penn State football or volleyball games. When exploring a new city, Melissa is most likely to seek out a museum and a street cafe to get acquainted with her new surroundings. Earth sciences are not only her academic interest but a hobby as well. She loves atmospheric and earth sciences, and particularly relishes a good cloud formation. Interests in cartography, geoscience, and atmospherics drive her at school and in her personal learning. She is particularly interested in the interactions between humans and the earth, in terms of resource use. Melissa’s life goal is to somehow make a marked positive difference in the world, however that may manifest in her future.

Melissa’s picture was taken in Mkambathi Nature Reserve in South Africa during her participation in the Parks and People program.

* * *

Dr. Neil Brown holds a split appointment with the Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering, and Development in Africa (AESEDA), and the Penn State Center for Sustainability. His research interests include sustainable systems and international education in developing countries with particular interest in agricultural sustainability.
In addition to his research, Dr. Brown directs and assists in developing Penn State international engagement initiatives that link researchers, students and stakeholders in the co-generation of knowledge. These initiatives occur in areas where critical human-environmental systems are coupled with unique or fascinating consequences. His current projects are focused in Jamaica and the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Both programs focus on sustainable development, environmental conservation and biodiversity and include a semester long study abroad program.
Dr. Brown is the primary instructor for two of our courses this summer, “A Ship in a Bottle” and “Sustainable Jamaica.”
* * *

Peter Buckland grew up around State College, Pennsylvania. He considers himself a boy of the woods, having an abiding love of the mountain gap streams, rhododendron, hemlocks, mountain laurel, and the great diversity of fauna thriving in the Rothrock just a few hundred feet from his house. Since his teens, he has expressed himself through music, fiction, essays, and articles including three years on the radio co-hosting Sustainability Now Radio on the Lion FM 90.7.

Currently, Peter is completing his Ph.D. in Penn State’s Educational Theory and Policy program where he focuses on sustainability, ethics, and policy. He co-founded Environment-Ecology-Education in the College of Education (3E-COE), who won the 2010 Outstanding Student Group Award. Peter’s teaching on education and sustainability earned him the Laurel Haven Conservation Award and the Harold F. Martin Teaching Award. In fall 2011 he worked with Groundswell to successfully pass an Environmental Bill of Rights and Hydraulic Fracturing Ban in State College by referendum. This kind of engaged work for sustainability and democracy earned him both a fellowship in Penn State’s Capacity to Foster Democracy program and one of the first Student Sustainability Leadership Awards for which Penn State planted a tree in his name.

Peter is the recently hired Director of Sustainability for the Kiski School, a boy’s prep school founded in 1888 teaching grades 9-12. There, he will teach for ecological literacy, develop a small farm, work on energy, conservation and waste projects, and collaborate people for a culture for sustainability.

Peter is the editor of this blog and the instructor for one of the Lions in Jamaica courses, “Managing Planet Earth.” Peter’s picture was taken on the bridge at the end of No Name Trail in the Rothrock State Forest in Pennsylvania.

Lions in Jamaica: The Journey Begins

This summer, a small group of Penn State students and faculty are traveling to Jamaica to immerse themselves in Jamaican culture. Along the way, we – the Lions of Jamaica – are going to share our experiences with you.

Over the next few weeks we will experience a lot: travel to a different culture, we will visit organic farms, see traditional tourist sites, witness inequality of incredible proportions, see brilliant wildlife, see the results of natural resource exploitation and its effects on the society, economy, and environment, and of course meet incredible people. All along the way, we hope to share with you, whoever you are.

Today, Jamaica’s culture and natural environment is nested in a global political and economic system. Through agencies like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (formerly GATS), the “developed” nations of the global North have refashioned Jamaica since its independence from Britain 40 years ago. Almost no part of Jamaica’s land and biosphere, human culture, or services and institutions, are untouched by globalization. Jamaica is undergoing the effects of the Anthropocene age too – the age of humans. Understanding its massive scope, we will investigate global management’s possibilities, limitations, and dilemmas by exploring sustainability within Jamaica’s context.

We will explore many questions on journey. Some of these might include: What are ethics and morality? What are progress, the environment, economic growth, happiness, education, and globalization? What is sustainability and how can we use it? Sustainable what? Sustainable for whose advantage? What are development and sustainable development? What are resilience and how does it connect with sustainability and development? In light of the UNCED Rio +20 summit this summer and our hopes for thoughtful responses to the interconnected problems of climate change, biological diversity impoverishment, deforestation, the continued human population boom, and barely calculable human suffering, we believe we are called to examine and move away from the business as usual plans.

Why wait for the powers that be to do it? So we are starting with us.

In the next several weeks we will be doing a lot. First, we will do our best to understand ourselves and understanding Jamaica and our relationships in the global systems. Second, we will be developing skills and strategies about and for sustainability that will entail developing a new vocabulary. Don’t worry, we’ll keep the jargon down and the clarity high. Communication is one of those skills! Third, no experience this rich would be worth it without some deep reflection on our total experience. So we will be sharing our own reflections with you in writing, video, photographs, and maybe interviews too. Finally, we hope that we can make good connections between our temporary home in Jamaica and our homes in the United States and work out ways to bring the best lessons home with us.

In the next few days, we will be introducing ourselves to you, students and faculty alike and explaining our inspiration for this class. As we get going, we will do our best to keep you up to date on what we are doing and share what we read, discuss, and experience with you.

Let the journey begin!